Musiq

singer

Personal Information

Born Taalib Johnson in 1977 in Philadelphia, PA.

Career

Singer; Aijuswanaseing, 2000; Juslisen, 2002.

Life's Work

Mix soul, funk, jazz, hip hop, and gospel, and the result is award winning singer Musiq, whose meteoric rise could almost be a fairy tale. A player in the recent musical explosion of neo-soul, the formidable singer had the elusive distinction of being the recipient of both critical and commercial acclaim and success. It took only a few years for the former street beat-boxer to rise to the top of the music charts and become the recipient of some of the industry's top awards and distinctions.

Soul Immersion

Born Taalib Johnson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Musiq was the oldest of nine children in a Muslim family. His parents kept strict control over their large household, and were responsible for Musiq's early love of and appreciation for the soul and funk music of the 1970s, music that shaped his artistic vision and musical voice and style. From an early age, Musiq was immersed in the musical tradition of such artists as Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Sly Stone, Donny Hathaway, John Coltrane, James Brown, and Patti LaBelle. Both of his parents sang, and his father played the saxophone. Creative by nature, young Musiq grew up drawing and singing in an encouraging atmosphere.

Young Musiq was restless, however, and singing along with the ever-present funk music playing at home wasn't enough for long. At the age of sixteen, he quit school before entering the tenth grade. He also left home, traveling around the area to stay with anyone who would have him for a while. During this time, he took his voice to the streets of Philadelphia. MCs hung out on South Street and the Boston Street Market to perform their own musical styling for the passersby, and Musiq was a regular. He began his public singing career by beat-boxing for the rappers; essentially, Musiq provided vocal percussion to keep the beat. Musiq told Vibe that beat-boxing "was the most effective way I could think of to contribute. I couldn't rhyme--I couldn't think of words that fast; I was always thinking of notes." Those in the area grew accustomed to him, and called out for him to perform. Soon, he had a following of sorts, as well as a new name: Music Boy.

Music IQ

Because he believed that the music is more important than the person behind it, Musiq had no qualms about the new moniker. However, he did decide to modify the new name. Musiq was a fusion of two words, "muse" for the muses of mythology who were believed to be the source for inspiration of all types, and "IQ," as in creative intelligence. For a time, he also sported a last name, Soulchild, but later dropped it because it symbolized the more radical portion of his alter ego, and the music he was producing did not match.

The newly dubbed singer continued performing on the streets, at malls, and in local shows and open mics. Not only had he acquired the attention of the listening public, Musiq also acquired a management team. Joining up with Mama's Boys Music's Mike McArthur and Jerome Hipps was providential for the singer, and in 1999, Musiq recorded a demo at DJ Jazzy Jeff's studio, A Touch of Jazz, which his managers offered to Kevin Liles, president of Def Soul records. That demo would be a gold record in less than a year.

Fusing the music of the 1970s with more recent hip-hop was what neo-soul artists were doing. Musiq's emotion-filled songs were inspired by such a fusion of sounds and styles, with a fair sprinkling of spirituality and introspection added to the mix. He told MTV that his artistry is about conviction. "I don't believe soul is something you can fake. I'm trying to make my music as real as possible, because I feel this is my form of communicating with the world."

Aijuswanaseing

Neo-soul music was coming into vogue, and artists such as D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, and Jill Scott were hot. Musiq's vocal stylings fell squarely into this category, and the powers-that-be at Def Soul knew a winner when they heard one. Not only was Musiq's demo released in the autumn of 2000 as his first album, Aijuswanaseing, the first single, "Just Friends," was included on the movie soundtrack for The Nutty Professor II. Packaged with such heavy hitters as Janet Jackson and LL Cool J, Musiq's popularity took off. Aijuswanaseing spawned three singles, which were all in Billboard's top thirty

The album title's strange spelling, which was written slang for "I Just Want to Sing," became one of Musiq's trademarks. Many of his song titles, as well as his second album's title--"Juslisen" translated to "Just Listen"--sported the playful approach to spelling and grammar, a characteristic as ever-present as the singer's sunglasses. Unlike the slang, which started out as something fun, the sunglasses began as a way to hide a lazy eye. But both became as much a Musiq trademark as the music.

Both a critical and popular success, Aijuswanaseing showcased Musiq's jazz-funk-hip hop-soul style to a large audience, helped along by the singer's extensive touring with other like-minded artists. The single and the album garnered Musiq several awards, more acclaim, and a huge following, and the album sold nearly two million copies. He had become a known quantity and a good bet, and was granted considerable creative freedom by Def Soul for album number two, Juslisen released in 2002.

Juslisen

As he did with his first album, Musiq collaborated on Juslisen with his partner in songwriting, Carvin Hagins. Although his second album did not distance itself musically from his first effort, Musiq had found a formula that worked. As Musiq quipped to Black Voices, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The first single, "Love," earned him a place among the year's best with a Grammy Award, among other recognition. Musiq had come out on top, and was headlining concerts on the supporting tour.

Musiq looked forward to a time in the future when he would write more socially radical or politically relevant lyrics, but acknowledged to Knight Ridder that the second album was too soon for such a departure. "I want to get to the point where the people who like what I do will follow where I want to go. And I'm not there yet." Kevin Liles, Def Jam president, echoed this idea, claiming the slower, gradual development of Musiq as an artist is crucial to his continued success in the business. As he told Black Voices, "This is not a one or two album thing. We're concentrating on building a brand."

In spite of the nearly instant success he achieved as an artist, Musiq did not want to limit himself to singing. An aspiring filmmaker, he was writing scripts, and hoped to also produce and direct in the future. An admirer of animated filmmaker Ralph Bakshi, who was responsible for American Pop and Heavy Traffic, Musiq told WMXD that "I like how he articulates his thoughts through words and color. His films follow the same rules as funk music with its extremeness, chaotic order, and organized confusion." Musiq was also interested in fashion, and was working with a program that had teaching youth about the music business as its mission. In addition to these other interests, he continued working in a production partnership called Carmui, slang for "karma," with producer Ivan Barias and cosongwriter Hagins.

But making music was still Musiq's first love and inspiration, and despite his phenomenal success, the singer often preferred to spend his time alone writing, reading, and thinking. Despite being linked with certain females, Musiq was a confirmed bachelor, at least for the foreseeable future. Still, no one heard Musiq complain. Musiq told Interview, "I've learned a lot of things the hard way.... But I'm blessed, because now I appreciate life. It's not a game."

Awards

BET Awards, Best Male R & B Artist, 2001, Best New Artist, 2001; Source Award, R & B Artist of the Year; NAACP Image Award, Outstanding New Artist, 2001; R & B Urban/Urban AC, Song of the Year, 2001; Soul Train Award, Best R & B/Soul Single, 2002; NAACP Image Award, Best Song, 2002; Grammy Award nominee, Best Male R & B Vocal Performance, 2002.

Works

Selected discography

• Aijuswanaseing, Def Soul, 2000.
• Juslisen, Def Soul, 2002.

Further Reading

Periodicals

• The Detroit News, May 3, 2002.
• Ebony, June 2002, p. 128.
• Interview, January-April 2001, p. 32.
• Knight Ridder News Service, May 8, 2002.

• new.blackvoices.com.
• www.alloy.com.
• www.askmen.com.
• www.bbc.co.uk.
• www.charlotte.com.
• www.defsoul.com.
• www.hob.com.
• www.mtv.com.
• www.popmatters.com.
• www.teenpeople.com.
• www.vibe.com.
• www.wmxd923.com.

— Helene Barker Kiser